547 Days
by missvolley10
Summary: Its been a year and a half since the Fischer job and the team has experienced some big changes. What happens when they get a new job with a mark no one ever expected! will eventually be an Arthur and Ariadne pairing!summary sucks.
1. Chapter 1

Hey Guys! So this is my latest attempt at a story I hope you enjoy it , I plan to make it a multi-chaptered story but I cant guarantee ill update it regularly! My schedule as of late is super crazy! Regardless I hope you enjoy and ask that you PLEASE review! oh and I don't own Inception!

Arthur was walking down a crowded Boston street towards the teams new headquarters with a coffee in his hand and today's newspaper tucked carefully under his arm. As Arthur neared the warehouse and saw that it looked empty he sighed with relief, glad to have a few minutes to himself before everyone showed up for work.

Today made it officially one year and six months since the Fischer job he realized as he plopped down in his desk chair pulling out the newspaper. As he scanned the paper searching for the correct article he thought back to all that had happened in a year and a half. Eames had called him shortly after the Fischer job was over to ask if he would like to continue working as a team. Granted Eames hadn't worded it so politely, but Arthur had agreed none the less and was now working with Eames ,Cobb and Yusuf as a team centered here in Boston. None of them had seen Ariadne since the airport directly after they finished the job, when they had all gotten together they had agreed to not contact her in hopes of not brining her back into the dream business. It wasn't that they didn't like her or recognize her talent they just wanted to protect her from their own dangerous world .No one would admit it, especially Arthur himself, but they all missed the perky little brunette. Arthur was yanked out of his reverie when he found the article he had been searching for, it was titled _Young Architectural Wonder Ariadne Black Announces Plans for a New Building!. _Arthur smiled as he read the article, he wasn't

Surprised at how quickly Ariadne had been recognized in the Architectural scene.

His smile dimmed a bit as he looked at the picture of the small girl that accompanied the story. Obviously it was Ariadne , she looked exactly the same but something about her eyes and facial expression startled the Point man. All the life and happiness that used to be ever present on the Architects face was gone, instead replaced by a blank serious expression. The image for some reason deeply affected him; he hated to think of all the changes that had occurred within the small girl in just a year and a half. He wanted to believe she could still be the happy carefree girl he had first met but the picture made him remember the first conversation he had with Cobb on their return. Cobb had told him of his fear that they had really messed up Ariadne. When Arthur had asked him to explain Cobb had said the last time he had talked to Miles, his father-in-law had been worried about her. He had told Cobb of how upon returning from the mission she had blocked herself off from everyone including Miles himself and simply focused on schoolwork. She had soon graduated top of her class and dropped of the face of the earth, as it seemed, until after a few months she came into the Architectural world as this brilliant, serious women who stared at him from the paper.

Before Arthur could really realize how much this bothered him Cobb walked in with Eames and another short balding man accompanying him. Arthur raised his eyebrow at the man as if asking Cobb, _Who is this?_

Cobb ignored Arthur's look and instead introduced him to the man, , whose hand he cautiously shook. At this Cobb turned to Arthur and said, " is a friend of Saito's and had requested our help in an extraction of a competitor of one of his apprentices."

With this the short man grabbed three identical folders from his bag and handed them too the men before starting to explain the job. " As has said I am hiring you to perform extraction on one of my apprentices competitors. Saito assures me that you are the most competent team he knows and will do a good job. All we need for you to get is some kind of dirt from our mark that we can use make this women look bad. We want something that will completely destroy an hope of this her ever getting another job as an architect again." He said.

The word architect caught all three men's attention, " Who did you say the mark was again Darling?" Eames asked as Arthur flipped open his folder.

Before Arthur could tell Eames anything though explained, " You've probably heard of her work, her name is Ariadne Black."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey Guys so here is chapter two I hope you guys like it and ask that you please review and let me know what you think. I don't own Inception!_

Bloody Hell he felt like a stalker watching Ariadne sit down alone at her hotels restaurant in Chicago. Ariadne was here visiting a friend while working on her newest job. Eames was still surprised they had taken this job, granted they didn't have much of a choice when Saito and 's threatened Cobb's kids. To think they had trusted Saito , that stupid bloody rich twit!

Eames again shifted uncomfortably in the seat he had taken next to Arthur, who at the moment was shooting him a dirty look, at the bar near Ariadnes table. Eames knew Arthur wasn't thrilled about this job either out of everyone on the team Arthur had come to know her the best. Eames would even say it seemed like Arthur had a thing for the young architect.

Arthur turned to Eames then and whispered, " Remember were just going in to check on the state of her subconscious. This IS NOT the job and we WILL NOT be staling anything from her."

Eames rolled his eyes at the point man, " Oh will you calm down Darling, I know what the plan is this is only the millionth time you've told me . I do have a quick question though before we give the signal to have her sedated, what if she sees us ?"

" It wont matter if she sees us , she will just think were projections. Even if she's only dreamed once her subconscious should alert her she's dreaming as soon as we enter the dream. So if she does catch us she wont realize its really us. If that makes absolutely any sense.", He quickly explained before giving the waitress the signal to sedate Ariadne.

They soon saw the waitress walk over and bump into the table as she apologized profusely about the drinks that were now spilt on the table she slipped the pill into Ariadne's wine. When the waitress finally stopped apologizing Eames saw Ariadne look after her retreating form with an annoyed look, she then reached down and grabbed her wine. Seconds later they saw her eyes droop before she collapsed in the chair, Arthur and Eames were soon at her side hauling her out of the bar with only a short explanation to the on lookers about how she never did hold her liquor well.

When they got the room Cobb opened it and they quickly brought Ariadne in and placed her gently on the bed. Arthur went over to the closet and silently pulled the PASIV out , he handed Eames a line then took one for himself. They had decided that Arthur and Eames would go in to do the reconnaissance mission while Cobb stayed to watch over the dreamers.

Eames glanced over at Arthur who was settling against the end of the bed, " You ready Darling ?" he asked with him finger over the button that would send them to the dream world.

" See you on the other side," he replied before they both slipped into unconsciousness. When he looked around Eames was mildly surprised at where he was, Arthur had planned it so when they woke up in the dream they would be in Chicago. Yet when Eames looked around one of the first things he noticed was he was sitting in Central Park. Only a few minutes he saw Arthur sit down next to him.

" What they hell Arthur I thought we were supposed to be in Chicago? " he growled.

" We were," Arthur replied looking extremely frustrated, " I'm not sure what happened , but I know one thing I'm definitely not in control of this dream"

" How can that even be ?," Eames pondered. He definitely did not like this , it was extremely dangerous to be in Ariadnes head in the first place they didn't need unexpected surprises the entire time too.

Arthur also seemed very upset by the change of events but he was trying hard not to show it. All of a sudden Eames heard Arthur cuss, wondering what got the point man so riled he glanced up at him. He blanched as he noticed they were no longer in Central Park but now cuffed to two chairs in what looked like a conference room of an office building. Eames had no idea how the bloody hell they had gotten here, it looked as if whoever was controlling this dream was extremely talented. And since it wasn't him or Arthur , Eames had to assume either Cobb had failed and another extractor was also in the dream or Ariadne was a lot more dangerous then they though. He really hoped it was the first rather then the second, since he saw the petite architect as like a little sister. 

His hopes were quickly destroyed though as the door to his left opened and Ariadne walked into the room. Her face was blank and she was dressed much like she had been in the second level of the Fischer job. She glanced at the men before greeting them, " Arthur, Eames its nice to see you. It had been a while hasn't it? I would apologize for having you cuffed to the chairs but seeing as you were intruding in my head I don't think its much of a price.".

She walked over to the chair at the head of the table which was to the left of Arthur and Eames. She sat down and pulled her bishop out of her pocket placing it on the table. She glanced at it a second before turning back to the men, " I figured he would send you" she whispered quietly.

She scoffed at the innocent looks they both shot her, " Oh don't act like you have no idea. I know Saito sent you , I'm perfectly aware that we haven't been on the best of terms for a while now. Let me guess this has something to do with apprentice right? ". She didn't wait for them to reply just took their blank faces as a confirmation, " Ahh that little weasel, he sure has been a pain in the ass. Its not my fault the poor boy has no talent and Saito needs to learn that he cant have every damn thing he wants. I swear he's worse than a spoiled child!" she quietly ranted. When she saw she had finally broken through their tough exteriors and that both Eames and Arthur seemed more relaxed, she finally let her walls down just a little bit.

Eames saw the minute it happened because she sighed sadly and he saw what he could only place as betrayal and disappointment in her eyes before she continued. " The thing I have to ask though is how you guys could possibly do this to me? First you abandon me and now your trying to help Saito destroy me? I need to know exactly why you're here, and what you were planning to do. No one will be leaving until I know everything. And since I am the one controlling the dream we can be here as long as I want"


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:Hey Guys! So I just wanted to thank everyone for their reviews and everything! Im glad you all seem to enjoy it so far I ask that you please keep up the reviews they really do help me figure out where this story is going. Also I know I have been updating pretty quickly as of late but sadly the next chapter might take me a while. I'm going to be seriously swamped in the next few weeks with exams and volleyball, so sorry for that in advance. Again I don't own inception!**_

Arthur turned to Eames giving him a slight nod telling him that they would tell her of the plan. Eames looked relieved that they wouldn't be lying to Ariadne, Arthur himself felt relieved by this fact but kept his stoic mask firmly in place.

" Saito sent to Dom promising him we were the best in the business. When Whells' informed us that you were the mark we instantly refused to perform the job. It seems though that Saito had warned him of this so when we refused Whells blackmailed us. Told us that if we didn't take the job he would harm Dom's kids," Arthur explained. He waited to see Ariadne's reaction to this new information; she didn't seem all to surprise.

" I figured he probably pulled some kind of stunt like that. The man is a heartless bastard. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this though," she replied quietly placing her head in her hands.

" What did you do to deserve this exactly?" Eames asked, " It seems a bit of a harsh reaction to not getting a few silly architect jobs".

Ariadne stared at the forger for a second before shaking her head and laughing a little. " You really don't have any idea what this job is about do you?" she asked still shaking her head as if she couldn't believe she had missed something.

" Well let me break it down for you real quick here. hasn't hired you because I've been taking all him apprentices job offers in the real world. He hired you because it seems extraction teams would rather hire me to be their architect then that whinny little bitch", she explained.

" Wait, What? You've been working in the dream world, but how? I've seen your name in the paper for months your supposed to be some huge architectural wonder," Arthur was extremely confused. How had he missed Ariadne going back into the dreams, word usually got around pretty fast in the dreaming business. If Aridne had joined up with some team he would have heard about it he was certain.

Ariadne chuckled at the point mans confused expression, " All that publicity is just a cover I had made after my second job. One of my colleagues was a man in power who owed me for saving his but , so he agreed to give me a cover story saying it would make me seem like less of a threat. And about me working in the dream business , you didn't really think just because you guys wouldn't hire me again I would stop did you?".

Arthur just stared blankly at her, honestly yeah they had figured that she would stop if they didn't find her after the Inception job. He hadn't though she would go off and find herself more jobs, he had believed the stories in the paper that claimed she had become a successful architect in reality. He was beyond amazed that she had gotten something past him, granted he had been a bit distracted thinking about how much he missed seeing her everyday. Still her ability to get jobs on her own and to hide her trail amazed him.

While Arthur was contemplating how truly amazing her feats were Eames was beaming at the girl. " My oh my princess aren't you just the sneaky one?", he teased. This got a small laugh out of Ariadne who seemed to have dropped most of her walls and looked much more comfortable. This allowed Eames and Arthur to relax a little also.

" So what have you been working on then?" Arthur asked, he tried to seem casual but he really did want to know.

" Oh an extraction job here and there. I've worked with some really good teams, they remind me a lot of you guys. Then there have been some less pleasant teams." She seemed to squirm a little as she added the last comment, almost as if she dreaded even bringing up those jobs. Arthur understood the feeling; he too had experienced some less than pleasant team members over the years. He had at first considered Eames to fit in to that category, but after working with the Brit for some time he now considered him a close friend of sorts. A very annoying close friend who just wouldn't leave you alone sometimes, but a friend never the less.

" Actually I met someone who said he was an old friend of yours Arthur.", Ariadne seemed to be trying to figure out the name and seemed to miss the worried look that flashed across Arthur's face. It was gone by the time she looked up though replacing it was a slightly curious look , he quirked his eyebrow at her slightly .

" Sorry I can't seem to remember his name," she said looking slightly frustrated, he just shrugged at her. With the momentary lull in conversation, Ariadne checked her watch before sighing. " Ok guys while I would love to tell you all about what I've been up to , we really should get back to why you're here. I know you explained the job to me, and I get it and all I just need to know one thing." She paused momentarily looking each of them in the eye before continuing, " I need to know what exactly you plan on doing when we wake up , because based on my estimations we should be waking up in about ten minutes."

Arthur turned to Eames who looked just as unsure as he did. _What were they going to do when they woke up ?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**AUTHORS NOTE! Hey guys I just wanted to thank you for reading and reviewing! Um this chapter kind of come out of nowhere, I've been dying to update this lately but haven't gotten around to it with exams. So if it sucks I sincerely apologize! Again sadly I don't own inception or Arthur sad face.**_

Ariadne couldn't help but feel hurt at the look the men shared. It wasn't something they should have to think about, they shouldn't even consider continuing on this mission. They should be trying to figure out how their going to help her not considering hurting her.

She thought she was going to scream, but the slight wavering of the office room around her brought her back to attention. Eames and Arthur were looking at the room with worried expressions. Ariadne knew she had to keep calm or her control over the dream would disappear and the dream would collapse. And she needed to know what they would do before they woke up, which meant they needed a few more minutes I the dream.

So she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths and felt the room settle back in to itself. When she opened her eyes Arthur and Eames were both looking at her incredulously.

" How in blood hell did you just stop the dream from collapsing?" Eames demanded.

Ariadne sighed " Its one of many tricks a friend taught me, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters now is you two telling me if I should plan on making a run for in when we wake up or not", she knew that came out harsher than she meant it but she was done playing games.

Next thing she knew Arthur was in motion and standing right next to her. He gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer. He looked her straight in the eyes, " Were going to wake up in a few minutes and there is no need for you to run from us. Were not going to hurt you I promise, we will find a way to keep us all safe." She couldn't doubt the sincerity in his gaze, and she knew Arthur did not make promises lightly.

" Okay," she whispered she could barely hear her response over the sound of her own heart. She wouldn't doubt that Arthur could hear it considering just how close they were right now. Not that the closeness bothered her, she loved being pulled against Arthur like this it made her feel oddly safe. They had just been standing there staring at each other for a few minutes when Eames cleared his throat.

At the noise they jumped apart and looked anywhere but at each other. Ariadne saw the smirk Eames sent their way before trying to stay on topic.

" Okay so while I am all glad you two seem to be having cutesy little moments again, we really should wake up about now."

" Oh right," Ariadne mumbled before turning to both of them and asking, " You guys ready?"

They nodded at her and she closed her eyes for a second before feeling the dream collapse around them. Seconds later she was opening her eyes in her hotel room, she sat up quickly looking around her. Arthur was taking the bracelet with the IV off and putting it away, while she saw Eames already talking to Cobb. They all looked at her when they noticed she was awake she was nervous for a second before she saw Eames face light up into a smile.

" Darling you are going to have to show me how you pulled off all those little tricks in there! It was wonderful," Eames bellowed pulling her into a quick hug. Cobb also gave her a smile and a quick hug mumbling a its good to see you into her hair. Ariadne hadn't expected a hug from Arthur, hugs just didn't seem like his thing. He surprised her though by pulling her too him and hugging her tightly " Its so good to see you, I missed you" her whispered in her ear as he pulled away. Ariadne tried to hide the blush creeping up her neck but it was futile, she both loved and hated that Arthur could effect her like this.

After all the hugs and greetings they set out to work. While Ariadne had been waking up Eames had explained their dream to Cobb. Cobb agreed that they would find a way around the job. They agreed that they should find somewhere safer to talk, as Saito knew where they were and probably had men watching then somewhere.

Ariadne offered that they take her car and would call her friend Trevor who owned a few safe houses. They all agreed to meet at her car separately. Five minutes later they were all comfortably seated in Ariadnes sleek black Mustang, with her I Pod playing quietly in the background. Cobb and Eames had taken the back seat while Arthur took the seat next to Ariadne. They had been driving for about ten minutes when Ariadne asked Arthur to pass her cell phone from the glove compartment.

She quickly took the phone and entered a number in it turning it on speakerphone. It rang twice before a mans voice said " Hello?"

Ariadne smiled " Hey Trev its Ari! I was wondering if me and a some of my friends could borrow one of yours and Tracie's safe houses?"

The man seemed surprised to hear from her " Hey Ari! God it's been a few months since we've seen you, yea you can definitely borrow a safe house. Umm do you still have keys to the one in New York?"

" Yea I have the keys. Thanks for letting us use it, ill come drop the keys back off when were done. Sorry but I have to cut this call short, send my love to Tracie and the kids. It was nice talking to you Trev.. I've missed you." Ariadne quickly said good-bye and finished her call.

She knew they were all looking at her she sighed " Trev is an architect like me, I met him a few months after the Fischer job. I worked with him and his wife Tracie, who was our point man. They taught me a lot and eventually we all became really good friends. I work with them every couple months now and if there isn't a job I usually just drop by to see them".

" How many jobs have you had since Inception?" Cobb asked surprised.

Ariadne shrugged her shoulders " Ehh I have a job about every two months or so, it seems that my name got around after Inception. Trev and Tracie have tried their best to keep me away from dangerous jobs. They saved me from a corporation called Cobol a few months ago actually."

" You've been with Cobol?" Arthur strangled out, he didn't like the thought of all the danger Ariadne had been in since they last met. Not hiring her and cutting off all contact with her was a horrible idea he finally realized.

Ariadne shot him a puzzled look, " Well yea umm they sent this guy Nash to talk to me. He offered me a job, tried to force it on me actually. I was lucky Tracie and Trevor found me and got me out of there".

Arthur felt ill, he hated the thought out Nash trying to force anything on Ariadne. He also felt extremely guilty he was supposed to protect her after the first job. Granted he had thought he was protecting her by leaving her, but he realized just how wrong her was.

Ariadne grabbed took the wheel in one hand and grabbed one of his with the other. He felt her give it a quick squeeze before she reassured him that none of it was his fault. Her reassurances helped a little but he still couldn't get rid of the guilt. As she drove though she never dropped his hand, neither seemed to notice this or the silly grins plastered on Cobb and Eames face as they watch the two interact.

About five minutes later Ariadne pulled into the garage of the airport, she had to drop Arthurs hand in order to park, but as soon as they exited the car they both reached out and locked hands again.

They headed towards the line to get their tickets, they were heading to New York and for the time being everything was all right.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing! You guys have no idea how happy reviews make me : ) So this weekend has left me in a really good mood, and good moods = lots of FLUFF ! So enjoy my cliché happy moments :) Sorry its short ! I don't own inception.

Arthur sighed; he was really starting to detest airplanes. The only thing that made this once pleasant was the girl currently sleeping on his shoulder. He hadn't realized how badly he had missed her until she was by his side again.

He knew they were treading a dangerous line between friends and something more at the moment. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn't so sure about her. Yea she hadn't pushed him away when he hugged her and she had reached for his hand in the car and afterwards but he still wasn't sure. He didn't want to find out he was reading too much into things.

He had taken to watching her sleep peacefully to pass the time during the flight. He couldn't help but smile at her sleeping form. She looked so much like the small architect he had first met when she was asleep, all the stress and worry was washed away from her face. He reached up his hand and slowly ran his hand through her hair, she stirred slightly pressing her face farther into his shoulder and sighing in content.

He knew Eames and Cobb were watching him from their seats two back, they were probably talking about his strange behavior but he didn't care. He knew it seemed as if his feelings came out of nowhere, but they hadn't.

He had always been smitten with Ariadne. She was beautiful and curious and she reminded him that there was more to life then just dreaming. During the Fischer case they had become fairly close, he had trained her in dreaming and in return she would drag him out of the warehouse for food or just to talk. She used to tell him all the time to just relax and have a little fun, and she would smile at him and he knew right then he would do whatever she asked.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize the architect was no longer asleep on his shoulder but trying to gain his attention. She tried calling his name but he seemed to have not heard so she reached out and put her hand on his check. This seemed to bring him out of his trance. Arthur looked at her when he had finally realized she was awake.

He could see she was worried. She stroked his cheek with her hand and whispered "Hey what's got you thinking so hard?"

Arthur didn't know what to tell her, should he tell her his feelings or lie. He decided on the first because he wouldn't lie to her.. ever. He knew it probably wasn't the time or place, but for once it didn't matter to him that everything wasn't perfect.

He reached his hand up and brushed her hair out of her eyes before looking into her eyes and whispering, "God your beautiful, Its been hell not having you here fore a year and a half. I've missed you so much it hurts, but I always stayed away because I thought you were safer and that was all that mattered. You were all that mattered."

He saw her blush crimson red, he smiled she looked adorable when she got all embarrassed. He knew he sounded like a corny lovesick teenager but he couldn't help it she just did that to him, and it didn't bother him a bit. He could see on her face that she had understood what he had been trying to say. She was beaming and him and he knew then and there that he wouldn't make this work; they would work.

He leaned forward then and her lips met him half way. Somewhere in the back of the cabin he heard Eames say something that sounded like a muffled "About fucking time!". He didn't notice respond though he was to occupied with Ariadne and how it felt to have her lips pressed against his. When they pulled apart for air they were smiling softly at each other with their foreheads pressed together.

After Ariadne had caught her breather she kissed him lightly again before pulling away and whispering in his ear, " I love you too."

Arthur pulled her closer then, as close as the airplane seats would allow and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wrapped hers around his middle and placed her head on his shoulder sighing in contentment. This Arthur knew was a moment he would never forget, the moment when his problems with Saito and the job were forgotten. The moment when it was simply his and Ariadne and the fact that she had just made his life perfect.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey sorry for the wait on this chapter! I have been really busy with school and friends and crap! Umm please keep the comments and stuff up! They keep me writing!

Again I don't own inception! BTW: this is really just a filler chapter sorry!

" Okay so what exactly are we going to do?" Arthur questioned Cobb. They had arrived at the safe house about an hour ago and where now gathered in the expansive living room. Cobb was seated in an oversized armchair explaining their next step. Arthur was seated on the rather large leather couch with Ariande sitting in his lap. Eames was starring out the large scenic windows in the back of the house, there wasn't much to see considering the hosue was surrounded by trees.

Cobb sighed, " Okay so since obviously we aren't going to try and destroy Ariadne we need to think of a way to convince that we did. Its going to require that we try inception again."

" So were going to plant the idea in his head that you guys successfully preformed inception when you didn't?" Ariadne asked.

" No, were going to convince him that destroying you isn't necessary. Its going to be difficult though because Whells works in the dream business, meaning his subconscious will be militarized" Cobb glanced at Arthur, " Do you think you can start on his file tonight?"

" Of course," Arthur said pulling Ariadne just a little bit closer to himself. She seemed to realize that something was bothering the point man because she laid her head on his shoulder and starting running her hands through his hair in a comforting gesture. He smiled at her and gave her a light peck on the lips before turning back to group.

" So how many layers are we going to need?" Ariadne asked trying to keep on track.

"Well were going to have to go three layers deep again. So we will need three designs , I was thinking we could probably just modify the three we used on fischer.", Ariandne nodded her head . " Okay well lets get started, ill call Yusuf because we will probably need his help with sedatives".

With that Cobb stepped into the kitchen to call Yusuf who was currently in Mombassa. Ariadne turned to Arthur and kissed him lovingly before standing up and handing him his laptop, he gave her a small smile before going off to work in the library. Ariadne walked over to Eames who was still staring out the window.

" Hey you want to help me adjust these levels?" she asked him knowing until Arthur had all the details about Whells that Eames would have nothing to do.

He turned to her and grinned " Sure Darling I'll see what I can do to help". They set up Ariadne's sketch book and supplies up in one of the seven bedrooms the house had to offer. This one was located on the first floor and had a large black leather couch and sleek mahogany desk in it, so they could work comfortably.

It was about an hour later that Eames suggested they get something to eat. They had made significant work on the adjustments of the previous levels, adding more dead ends and short cuts just in case. They kept the overall designs the same making changes in the décor and colors to give the layouts a different feel.

When they exited the room they found Cobb sitting in the kitchen looking at his laptop. He looked up when they walked him, " Yusuf said he would help, he should be here around noon tomorrow".

" Okay, well we made some changes to the levels but I cant say their finished until we get some information from Arthur. I want to make sure the changes will work for Whells" Cobb nodded at this with a proud smile on his face. He couldn't help but think that Ariadne had come a long way from the first time they had met.

" Well I don't know about anyone else but I'm starving!" Eames exclaimed, Ariadne chuckled at his childish antics.

" Okay how about I go get Arthur and then we will decide what to order?" Ariadne offered. Cobb nodded and Eames mumbled a yea before starting to look through the drawers for take out menus. Ariadne headed towards the library , she quietly opened to door hoping not to interrupt Arthur. She walked in to find him typing away on his laptop with stacks of neatly folded print out surrounding him at the desk.

It didn't seem that he had heard her enter so she tiptoed up behind him and slipped her arms around his neck. He finished what he had been typing before closing the laptop and looking up at her.

" Hey" he greeted, she slowly walked around the arm of the chair until she was again sitting in his lap. He pulled her close like he had during the meeting before giving her a sweet kiss on the lips. When he pulled away he kept their foreheads connected, Ariadne could tell there was still something bothering him a little but she knew he would tell her when he was ready. " Eames sent me up to get you so we could order some dinner" she whispered before leaning in to kiss him again.

This kiss started off just as sweet as the last but it soon turned more heated when Arthur deepened it. They sat there just kissing and holding each other until they heard a knock at the door.

Eames booming voice came through soon after " Hey lovebirds could you please stop making out for two seconds so we can get some damn food?".

Ariadne and Arthur both laughed before pulling apart and heading towards the door with their hands interlocked.

When they opened the door Eames just shook his head and grumbled something about " this love sick teenager crap better not last forever!"

Arthur rolled his eyes at the forger moving around him to lead Ariadne towards the kitchen. By the time they had ordered their food they were all seated around the island in the kitchen catching up. Cobb was currently telling them a story about how Phillipa had told him she was going to marry their neighbor, who was twenty-five, because he gave her a new Barbie for her birthday. The all laughed at how worked up Cobb got at this.

They sat there joking and laughing as they ate. It reminded Ariadne of some of the family dinners she had as a kid. Ariande realized that these men where her family. Eames was like the older brother she always wanted, where Cobb was her father figure and Arthur was the love of her life. It made her happy to realize that she had a family again, it may be a family made of criminals and conmen, but it was a family all the same. She knew they would always be there for her and that's all that mattered.

So for the night at least the dangers that their current job would bring were push aside, and they all relished the feeling of belonging again.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Hey sorry for the wait, ive have been focusing on school a lot more lately! I hope you guys like where this story is going and I promise some more action will happen soon! I just really have to figure out where exactly I want to take this. As always I don't own inception and reviews are appreciated!_

It almost felt like old times again to Ariadne. The group was all seated in the living room of the safe house; Cobb was writing something on a white board they had found and explaining the job. Arthur was tipping dangerously in a kitchen chair he had brought into the room. Ariadne could see that it was only by a conscious effort that Eames avoided knocking him over.

Ariadne couldn't keep the smirk off of her face; she loved these moments, when they were all working comfortably with each other. She had missed that ease that came with this team after she had started working in the dream business.

" Okay so the mark is Aden Whells, he runs an under ground extraction company that had been known to associate with Cobol. So the plan is to use many of the same techniques we did during the Fischer job. We will be using similar layouts and the idea will be much the same. Were going to try and convince Whells that it isn't necessary to harm Ariadne by destroying his relationship with him apprentice" Cobb explained as he handed each of them a file .

"Okay so what do we know about the apprentice?", Eames asked.

" The apprentices name is Nathan Holmes, he's twenty-five, he's been in the dream business for about three years now. His criminal record is just a bunch of petty crimes he committed as a teen," Arthur said.

" Well we can use that to our advantage cant we? If were trying to destroy the relationship between him and Whells couldn't we use convince Whells he's been working against him . If Whells is aware of his criminal past he's probably already has a problem trusting him. We could exploit that." Ariadne suggested.

" That could actually work. So Yusuf will be here tomorrow and then we can run a few test runs. The official job will be done in a few weeks when Whells is traveling to Japan." Cobb said. With that they all headed off to their respective stations to start working again. Ariadne had just turned to head to her space when she felt someone grab her arm, she turned to see Arthur standing there.

" Can we go somewhere to talk", he whispered. His words mixed with the stoic expression sent a wave of concern through Ariadne, but she led him towards the stairs anyway. When they stepped into their room on the second floor Arthur quietly closed the door before slipping his arms around Ariadne's waist.

He pulled her body up close against his before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Ariadne realized that whatever he needed to talk to her about was making him nervous, he always held her just a little bit tighter when he was upset. Gently caressing his cheek with one hand and running her other gently through his hair she studied his face before asking, " What do you need to talk to me about?"

She could feel the breath from his sigh on her scalp and it made her shiver slightly. " I don't think you should go in on this job Ari" He admitted finally. Her hand instantly moved down to his chest and tried to push him away, but he just held her tighter.

" What do you mean I should go in on this job Arthur? Why in hell would I not go in!" She exclaimed having stopped trying to push him away, realizing he would never let her go.

" Please calm down Ari," he begged, " I just don't think its safe for you to go into this job. Your too close to this job, there's too much that could happen to you because of your personal life interfering."

" So you think just because I know Nathan and Whells that I cant do my job? Your wrong Arthur! Yes I do have some issues with them because well they're kind of trying to kill me ! That doesn't mean I cant focus on my job though!" she shouted at him.

" I never said you couldn't do you job Ariadne! You're the best architect I've ever seen and I never doubted your abilities, you're a natural when it comes to dreams. What I was saying though is its too dangerous to have you in there." Arthur was now yelling right along with her.

" And the Fisher job wasn't dangerous! Arthur I've been shot at , captured and gone to limbo; What could possibly happen in this job that could be more dangerous."

She wasn't shouting anymore, that wouldn't get them anywhere.

Arthur too seemed to calm, " I know you're used to the danger, you kind of have to be to work in dreams. I just don't think bringing you into the mind of a man who wants to kill you is a good move. What if he were to realize he's dreaming, huh? I can't put you in that kind of danger Ari; I just cant!"

Ariadne sighed before wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face into his chest. She just sat there for a second breathing in the familiar scent of Arthur's cologne and trying to digest his words. After a few moments she asked " Is it really that important to you that I stay out of the dream?"

"Yes Ari it really is. All I care about is that you are safe, you're all that matters."

" Okay then I guess we have to tell Cobb that ill be staying back and watching over you guys. You have to promise to be careful Arthur. I love you and it will kill me to not go in with you but if it will make you feel better I wont. But that means you have to be extra careful so that you stay safe and come back to me okay?" she relented.

" I promise Ari, I love you too" They stood there holding each other close for a moment before Ariadne pulled back and gave him a sweet kiss.

" Okay lets go tell Cobb, then I want to teach you the new second level." She said while grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room. He stopped her for a second though and pulled her close to place a passionate kiss on her lips.

" Thank you," he whispered before giving her another kiss. His mouth moved from her lips to her throat where he started placing hot opened mouth kisses, when he hit a particularly sensitive spot she couldn't hold her moan. She felt him smile against her neck before he continued his trail down her neck, while his hands traced the hem of her shirt before trailing up her back.

" Hmm I think Cobb can wait a little while.." she said distractedly while pushing him back into the room and closing the door with her foot. She grabbed his face and gently brought his lips back to hers before pulling them both down onto the bed.

" mm I couldn't agree more," Arthur added with a smile.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey guys : ) soo I know its been a while and im sorry it has taken me soo long to update but ive been really busy with volleyball and all that! So I think ive finally figured out what to do with this story, and I hope you guys like it ! Ill admit this isn't my best writing so please don't be mad : ) as always review and I don't own inception!

" Well she's done it again love," Eames commented as he let out a chuckle.

For once Arthur had to agree with Eames, they were currently doing a run through of the job, which was to occur in three days. At the moment they were on the first level of the dream and Arthur was yet again amazed that the detail Ariadne put into he layouts. One couldn't miss the resemblance of the layout to that of the Fischer job, but here and there you would notice subtle differences. For one the layout had more of a Chicago feel to it this time, and there were many more alleyways and escape routs for them to use if the occasion arrived.

Arthur smiled when he remembered asking Ariadne why she had put so many safety precautions in to the layout. She had simply turned to him and told him it was her way of making sure he kept his promise of staying safe. He knew Ariadne wasn't thrilled about staying behind, he could see it was driving her insane not to be there with them but he was happy she was safe. He knew the others agreed that her staying was a good idea even if certain people like Eames told him he was making her just as boring as he was and how much of a tragedy it was.

Arthur still wasn't sure why he continued working with the forger, especially when he constantly teased him about his girlfriend.

He was snapped back to reality when Cobb started talking, " Okay so its agreed that Yusuf will stay on the first level again and watch over us. Arthur you will stay on the second level like last time and Eames and me will go onto the third level. Now I know were all still worried about the treat of Limbo but I think Yusuf may have found a solution to that."

With that Yusuf began to talk, " Oh yes, so ive enhanced the sedative we used last time. I made it so that while we will still be able to use a kick to be woken up , the layers will still be stable. Also the sedative isn't quite as potent anymore, it will still put us to sleep but as we dream it will gradually wear off. The ingenious part though is I've made it so while the sedative wears off the dreamer will still sleep."

" So there will still be the danger of limbo on the first level but the farther we go that chance will lessen?" Arthur asked.

"Precisely!" Yusuf added with a satisfied smile.

" Well that's good, now poor little Ariadne wont have to worry about our dear point man quite so much." Eames added with a smirk at Arthur who was no giving him a death glare. Arthur honestly didn't understand why Eames constantly chose him to tease, but it was really starting to get on his nerves.

" Speaking of Ariande, shouldn't she have given us the kick already?" Cobb added glancing at his watch. Arthur too looked down at his watched and frowned, Cobb was right the she should have given them the kick five minutes ago. All of a sudden Arthur was overwhelmed with the feeling that something was off, it wasn't like Ari to forget to give them the kick. Something had to be up, so without a second thought Arthur pulled out his gun and shot himself.

When he woke up he immediately looked for Ari, but what he found instead was the living room in a state of disarray. Tables were turned over, there was shattered glass on the floor from where a vase had been broken and Ariadne was missing. He heard the noises indicating the others were waking up , so he took his Iv out and headed toward the PASIV. That's when he spotted the piece of paper sitting on top of the devise being held down by a little golden bishop.

He grabbed the note and read it " Arthur, for someone who claims to love her so much you really did leave you architect in a bad situation. You know what we want and you know that until we get it we will keep her. What happens to her depends upon you; so let the games begin. – C".


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Okay so I know it's been like a month since I've updated! Sorry about that, I've been busy with life and all the great BS that comes with it. I promise to try and update this more often, like another chapter will probably be posted next week since I'm going to South Carolina on vacation and will have a ton of free time! So again I don't own inception : (**

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The jostling of the car Ariadne was currently sitting in slowly brought her back to consciousness. As she went to open her eyes though, all she saw was black; they had blindfolded her. Upon noticing this she tried pulling at her hands and feet, only to realize both were retrained by what she guessed was rope. She continued pulling at the rope trying to see if maybe she could untie it, when she felt a hot flash of pain on cheek.

Ariadne cried out in pain now noticing how her entire body ached from the struggle back at the house. Her recollection of the events was a bit muddled by the effects of the sedative they had given her, but she distinctly remembered trying to wake Arthur. She remembered hearing someone come into the house and getting worried, she had headed over to give Arthur the kick when she felt someone grab her arm. She had screamed and tried to fight of the attacker, knocking over a table and vase in her struggles. It was all in vain though because soon enough she felt the man inject a needle into her neck and the sedative started kicking in almost instantly; the last thing she had seen before she became unconscious was Arthur's sleeping form.

And now she was here, wherever that was. She could tell from how the room seemed to be bouncing that they were in the back of a car, which was currently moving. She knew this was a bad sign, how was Arthur supposed to find her if he didn't know where to look? She started struggling again with a newfound will, she knew there was no hope it would help but she couldn't just sit there.

" Will you stop struggling god damn it !", she heard a female voice hiss to her right. The voice sounded distinctly familiar but with her drug induced haze Ariadne couldn't place it.

" Ariadne we don't want to hurt you. So will you please just sit still? You know as well as we do that struggling will get you nowhere," Another voice, this time male, said from somewhere in from of her. This voice too struck her as familiar, but like the first she was unable to place it.

" I'll struggle if I want to!" she slurred back at them, while she continued to pull at the bonds.

The male voice sighed before addressing the female, " Babe will you sedate her before she ends up hurting herself? That's the last things we need, to being her in bloody and broken."

The woman made no reply, but soon Ariadne felt the needle puncture her wrist and the tell tale signs of the sedative entering her blood. She felt the woman lean close to her and heard her whisper, " Oh sweetie why do you always have to be so stubborn?"

That's when it clicked; only one person in the world besides maybe Arthur called her sweetie. " Tracie?" Ariadne whispered as the sedatives finally began to work.

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The house was silent as all four men took in the room around them. They all knew that this, someone taking one of them, was a risk of the job; but that wasn't supposed to apply to a test run. People weren't supposed to get hurt before the job even began, especially not their little architect.

Cobb turned from the destruction of the room and looked at Arthur, he took in the point mans appearance and sighed. This is what happened when you got too close, everything hurt like hell. He knew what Arthur was going through; before Mal had died they had been in this situation multiple times. Each time worse then the last because you knew it was your fault; your fault she was god knows where having god knows what done to her, all because you couldn't protect her.

Cobb walked over to his long time friend and placed his hand on his shoulder, " Do you have any idea who C is Arthur?"

The point mans head shook a little as he whispered, " Its Cobol, they have her."

Cobb nodded his head in understanding, they still had a price to pay with Cobol and Ariadne was their way of making sure they paid up.

"Where do you think they would have taken her?" Cobb asked quietly.

Arthur slowly turned to him, and the emotion on the usually stoic point mans face made them all wince. He seemed to think for a minute before coming to a conclusion and looking at them all before answering, " Mombassa…"


	10. AUTHORS NOTE

Authors Note: Hey sorry that its been so long since ive updated this. I broke my laptop with all my chapters and notes on it while I was on vacation,  
and I just havent found the time to figure out where to take this story. If you guys have any ideas please write them in a review for me! I really need some inspiration at the moment!I promise i'll try and update as soon as I get a good idea!  



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